Help with backyard toad ID (northern Colorado)

Question

I live near Greeley and occasionally find small toads in my backyard and in surrounding farm land. The one I just caught was 3cm long, warts were black around the edges with dark brown centers on lighter brownish skin. I've looked around on-line and it sounds like it should be a Woodhouse's toad, which is common in backyards, but that doesn't look right. Any ideas? No idea if this is a young toad or just a small species, although I've never seen them bigger.

Answer 1

Great Plains toad Bufo cognatus is a relatively large species of toad. It ranges from southern Alberta, throughout the western United States, and into northern Mexico.The great plains toad is grey, brown, and green in color, with darker colored blotching. It can grow to 4.5 inches in length. Its primary diet is various species of cutworms. It prefers grassland habitat with loose soil that is easy to burrow in. Breeding occurs throughout the spring and summer months, most often immediately after heavy rainfall. In dry areas it may only emerge from its burrow for a few weeks when conditions are right, and only at night, but in areas with permanent water bodies and abundant rain it may be active all day.[1] It has a very loud, harsh mating call.The toad is predated by the plains garter snake, Thamnophis radix. It uses chemoreceptors to sense chemical cues left by the snake.

Picture of a Great Plains toad http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/enlar...

  

Boreal toad (Bufo boreas) is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm long, of western North America. It has a white or cream dorsal stripe, and is dusky gray or greenish dorsally with skin glands concentrated within the dark blotches. Its parotoid glands are oval, widely separated, and larger than the upper eyelids. It is mottled venter, has horizontal pupils, and lacks cranial crests.Compared to females, males have smoother skin, reduced dorsal blotching, and nuptial pads (thickened skin) on their forefeet during breeding season. In juveniles of this species, the dorsal stripe is weak or absent. Large young have prominent dorsal and ventral spotting and yellow feet.

Breeding occurs between March and July in mountainous areas, and as early as January in lower-elevation regions. The female lays up to 17,000 eggs stuck together in strings that adhere to vegetation and other objects along water edges.The Western toad is a common species occupying a wide variety of habitats, but is listed as near threatened largely due to the impact of disease, especially chytridiomycosis. It is frequently encountered during the wet season on roads or near water at other times. When handled adults often vocalize, making a sound like a peeping chick while struggling. It eats any type of insect it can catch. It also has a very long jump.

Picture of a boreal toad  http://www.nwf.org/frogwatchUSA/images/b...

Woodhouse's toad

(Bufo woodhousii) is a moderate sized (4") toad native to the United States and Mexico. There are two recognized subspecies. The epithet woodhousii is in honor of the American physician and naturalist Samuel Washington Woodhouse.

Picture of a woodhouse toad http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/enlar...



Red-spotted toad Bufo punctatusis a small toad species growing to 3.7 to 7.5 centimeters in length. It has a flattened head and body, and a light grey, olive or reddish brown dorsum with reddish or orange skin glands. It has a whitish or buff venter with or without faint dark spotting, and round parotoid glands. Its snout is pointed.The juvenile looks similar to the adult, but has more prominent ventral spotting and the undersides of its feet are yellow. The male red-spotted toad has a dusky throat and develops nuptial pads during the breeding season.This toad is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, especially Baja California. It occurs primarily along rocky streams and riverbeds, often in arid or semi-arid regions. It is very localized on the coastal slope, but widespread in the deserts. In dry areas it needs seasonal pools or even temporary rain puddles to use for breeding. Eggs hatch in three days and the tadpole can transform in a single week, taking advantage of the ephemeral water bodies. It spends dry periods in burrows or beneath rocks or moist plant matter, and becomes suddenly active during rainfall when multitudes of individuals emerge.It may hybridize with Bufo boreas in some locations, although this needs confirmation. It is docile and easily handled with little or no skin gland secretions.

picture of a Red-spotted toad http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/enlar...

Green toad Bufo debilis are Active at twilight, but frequently will forage during the day following heavy rains. When threatened, it frequently flattens itself against the ground.

Picture of a green toad http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/enlar...

Great Plains narrowmouth toad Gastrophryne olivacea are Nocturnal. This toad often shares the burrow of a tarantula (where the two apparently live in harmony), a lizard, or a mole. It feeds primarily on ants.

picture of a Great plains narrowmouth toad http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/enlar...